There was no winner
from the previous Council meeting. Another card was drawn.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Mayor Pro Tem McTaggart
requested that the item regarding the Comment Letter on Draft EIR/EIS
for the Proposed Master Plan Improvements at Los Angeles International
Airport be heard immediately before the first public hearing.

Councilmember Gardiner
requested that Ordinance No. 364 – Prohibiting Hunting On Public Land
and April and May 2001 Treasurer’s Reports be removed from the Consent
Calendar for discussion.

The maker and the
seconder agreed to amend the motion to approve the Consent Calendar.

Motion to waive
full reading

Adopted a motion to
waive reading in full of all ordinances presented at this meeting with
consent of the waiver of reading deemed to be given by all councilmembers
after the reading of the title.

Minutes (301)

Adopted the Minutes
of May 23, 2001.

Informal Bid and
Pre-Ordering of Pipe for the San Ramon Drainage and Landslide Stabilization
Project

Reviewed and reconfirmed
by a four-fifths (4/5) vote, the Council’s action on July 3, 2001 to authorize
staff to conduct an informal bid process and pre-order drainage pipe for
the San Ramon Drainage and Landslide Stabilization Project.

Ordinance No.
363 - Repeal of "For Sale Sign" Prohibition

ADOPTED ORDINANCE
NO. 363 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES REPEALING REGULATIONS
RELATING TO PARKING VEHICLES FOR SALE ON PUBLIC STREETS AND AMENDING TITLE
10 OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE. (This ordinance was INTRODUCED
at the July 3rd meeting.)

ADOPTED RESOLUTION
NO. 2001-51, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 2001-43, THE BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2001-2002 FOR A BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO THE CITY’S GENERAL FUND
TO PURCHASE TAX-DEFAULTED PROPERTY FROM THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES.

Resol. No. 2001-52
- Register of Demands (602)

ADOPTED RESOLUTION
NO. 2001-52, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AND SPECIFYING FUNDS FROM WHICH
THE SAME ARE TO BE PAID.

The motion to approve
the Consent Calendar carried on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Gardiner,
McTaggart, Stern, and Mayor Lyon

NOES: None

ABSENT: Ferraro

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Ordinance No. 364
– Prohibiting Hunting On Public Land

The staff recommendation
was to adopt the proposed ordinance establishing regulations prohibiting
hunting on city property and amending the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal
Code. (This ordinance was introduced at the July 3rd meeting.)

Staff provided clarification
that the ordinance applied to land owned or leased by the City.

Councilmember Gardiner
suggested some clarifications be made to the report to make its contents
more understandable and asked about the City’s investment policy and the
possibility of different investments for better return.

Mayor Lyon and City
Attorney Lynch explained that the City’s policy had been very conservative
for the last 15 years because of investment experience before that time
but that possibly this subject could be agendized for discussion at a
future meeting.

Council consensus
was to order the Treasurer’s Reports received and filed.

City Manager Update
on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering Shoreline Protection Project

At this time, Mayor
Lyon asked City Manager Evans to give a report on this project.

City Manager Evans
explained the history of the project which begun as landslide abatement
and evolved into shoreline habitat protection. He said that at the Council
meeting on September 5, 2000, the Army Corps presented a offshore barrier
project which was unacceptable because of expense and aesthetics, and
that the Council advised the Corps at that time not to proceed unless
the City could develop information to allow the Corps to make it less
expensive and more aesthetically pleasing. City Manager Evans advised
that the City’s lobbyist in Washington had recently informed him that
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had requested that $100,000 be allocated
for this project in the Federal budget. The lobbyist suggested that the
City write letters to Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Jane
Harman requesting that this money be removed from the budget. He clarified
that money was needed for purchase of open space and for cleanup of lead
contaminated soil at Point Vicente Interpretative Center but these funds
could not be used for these purposes.

Comment Letter
on Draft EIR/EIS for the Proposed Master Plan Improvements at Los Angeles
International Airport

City Manager Evans
presented the staff report of July 17, 2001 and the recommendation to
approve the South Bay Cities Council of Governments’ Comment Letter on
the Draft EIR/EIS for the Proposed Master Plan Improvements at Los Angeles
International Airport and the attached cover letter and authorize the
Mayor to sign the cover letter on behalf of the City Council. He discussed
revisions to the cover letter suggested by Attorney Barbara Lichman and
provided to the Council after distribution of the agenda packet.

Council discussion
centered on the need to include all pertinent issues in the letter to
preserve the City’s legal position, even if it was decided later not to
pursue some of the issues. It was suggested that the Council could approve
the concept and the letter could be composed by Staff in order to meet
the July 25, 2001 submittal deadline.

Donald Jones, 5511
Eau Claire Drive, urged the Council to send the letter and mentioned several
of his concerns such as congestion, air pollution, noise, and several
incidents in which there were almost collisions between airplanes. He
favored development of regional airports rather than expansion of LAX.

Beverly Ackerson,
27129 Spring Creek Road, co-chairman of the Peninsula resident group PANIC,
thanked the Council for writing a letter responding to the EIR/EIS which
she felt was badly flawed. She said that the Peninsula was not listed
as an impacted area even though it was well known that there had been
a severe aircraft noise problem for several years.

Lois Larue, 3136 Barkentine
Road, asked for a copy of the cover letter which included the revisions
suggested by Attorney Lichman.

Council consensus
was to have staff work with Mayor Pro Tem McTaggart, one of the Council
Liaisons to LAX Expansion/Noise, to make sure that the cover letter including
all issues that the City wished to address.

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

Ordinance
No. 366 - Code Amendment No. 49

Mayor Lyon opened
the public hearing on this request to consider Code Amendment No. 49 and
to introduce Ordinance No. 366. City Clerk Purcell announced that notice
had been duly published and that written comments were submitted to the
Council at the onset of the meeting.

Senior Planner Fox
presented the staff report of July 17, 2001 and the recommendation to
introduce the proposed ordinance to adopt an Amendment to Chapter 17.46
(Equestrian Overlay (Q) District) of Title 17 of the Municipal Code.

City Attorney Lynch
clarified that this proposed ordinance would not legalize activities previously
not allowed by code but merely would allow previous legal activities to
continue.

Council discussion
focused on the complex issues discussed during the years of hearings to
establish the code regarding horsekeeping regulations and the recent hearings
which led Council to ask for greater discretion in determining the appropriateness
of grandfathering the number of horses allowed on certain properties.
Further modifications to the proposed ordinance were discussed.

Richard Bara, 1 Peppertree
Drive, said that he was a member of the Equestrian Committee but was speaking
as a private citizen. He clarified that the date of February 1, 1997 was
established retroactively so it would have been impossible for horse owners
to know in advance to bring in extra horses that day to increase the number
of horses they were allowed to keep on their property. He added that horses
are being trucked in and out all the time and on any given day, there
may be varying number of horses on a piece of property.

There being no further
testimony, Mayor Lyon closed the public hearing.

Mayor Lyon opened
the public hearing on this request to introduce Ordinance No. 367 regarding
the Abalone Cove Sewer Maintenance Fee. City Clerk Purcell announced that
notice had been duly published and that written comments from the public,
a revised ordinance, a revised staff report, and a revised engineer’s
reports were submitted to the Council at the onset of the meeting.

Director Allison presented
the staff report of July 17, 2001 and the recommendation to

The City’s consultant,
Joan Cox, Harris & Associates, described how fees were established
according to Proposition 218; the various types of systems installed;
the allowance of a fee increase by CIP in the future; corrected information
regarding certain properties received since the Council received the agenda
packet; the need to verify other information regarding certain properties;
the recalculation of beach property fees; and the fact that there no fees
for vacant lots. She mentioned that fees for some properties, because
of incorrect information, would be much higher than expected by the property
owner and that the Council might wish to notify the owner and/or subsidize
the higher fee.

Council discussion
centered on the City’s subsidy and possible sunset dates; funding for
spare parts replacement for the system; future assessments, separate from
this fee; assistance for payment by property owners with financial hardship;
and, a restriction against use of recycled "gray water" because
of the landslide.

Staff provided information
regarding the modular aspect of parts replacement; who is responsible
(the City or the homeowner) for blockage in different areas of the system;
capacity for storage and backup generator in the event of a power failure;
pipes above ground and flexible for accommodate land movement; and, features
included in the maintenance contract.

Muriel Titzler, 3
Ginger Root Lane, expressed concerns regarding homeowners on a fixed income
or suffering temporary financial hardship and she discussed the additional
fees and taxes paid by upon property owners in this part of the City.

Lois Larue, 3136 Barkentine
Road, said that she did not live in this part of the City but was asked
to read a letter from Kathy Snell, who did. Ms. Snell felt that the park/beach
formula to determine fees for those areas was incorrect. (A copy of Ms.
Snell’s letter is on file with the City Clerk’s Office.)

City Attorney Lynch
clarified that Ms. Snell’s remarks were partly why some changes were made
by the consultant.

Daphne Clarke, 10
Peppertree Drive, said that she was not directly affected but she was
concerned about elderly homeowners and hoped that fees could be waived
or deferred until the sale of their property.

City Attorney Lynch
clarified that Proposition 218 required that the Council would have to
consider this separately from the establishment of the fees.

There being no further
testimony, Mayor Lyon closed the public hearing.

Rowland Driskell,
30 Via Capri, spoke in opposition to the proposed use the York Long Point
Project’s proposed use of golf at Upper Point Vicente; suggested some
enhancements to beautify the site; and, felt that the farmer’s lease should
not be renewed so that the farmed section could accommodate other uses.
He also questioned the value of the proposed nine-hole golf course and
described negative comments he received when he phoned other golf courses
to determine the demand for this smaller course.

Don Shults, 2129 Velez
Drive, President of Rolling Hills Riviera Homeowners Association, discussed
the Ad Hoc Committee to Study City Border Issues established by the Council;
provided details on some of the projects; and, requested that the committee
give regular reports.

Council consensus
was to possibly provide regular reports from this ad hoc committee at
Council meetings, maybe near the beginning of the meeting, and to agendize
this matter for further discussion at a future meeting.

REGULAR BUSINESS:

Guidelines for Residential
Undergrounding Districts

Director Allison presented
the staff report of July 17, 2001 and the recommendation to

adopt the proposed
guidelines to establish a Residential Underground Program and he presented
a computer generated visual presentation to illustrate the procedure.

Mayor Pro Tem McTaggart
left the dais at 9:40 P.M. and returned 9:42 P.M.

Scott Gobble, Southern
California Edison, offered the following information: the estimated length
of time for bonds to sell; the option of having Edison design the project
and then either build it or have someone else build it; the lines become
the property of Edison after they installed; maintenance for underground
lines differs from overhead; and, the minimum and usual number of homes
included in a district.

Council discussion
focused on the need for cost deferral for residents for whom the assessment
would be a hardship and the consensus was to address this issue after
the fees have been established for a successful district.